BRITISH MILITARY KIT THROUGH THE AGES

The British soldier has come to be nicknamed “Tommy Atkins”. It is therefore only fitting that a photographer named Thom Atkinson took these series of photos, demonstrating the evolution of the British soldier’s kit throughout the ages. From the Battle of Hastings to patrolling in Helmand Province, this is what Tommy Atkins carried and wore as he marched off to war!

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NORMAN KNIGHT, HASTINGS 1066

CRUSADER KNIGHT, THIRD CRUSADE, CIRCA 1190

LONGOWMAN (YEOMAN) 100 YEARS WAR, EARLY 15TH CENTURY

YORKIST SOLDIER, LIVERY DUKE OF NORFOLK, WAR OF THE ROSES, 2ND-HALF 15TH CENTURY

ELIZABETHAN ERA CALIVERMAN, TRAINED BANDS, LATE 16TH CENTURY

MUSKETEER OF THE NEW MODEL ARMY, ENLISH CIVIL WAR, MID-17TH CENTURY

PRIVATE, WAR OF THE SPANISH SUCCESSION, FIRST DECADE 18TH CENTURY

PRIVATE, BATTLE OF WATERLOO, 1815

PRIVATE, RIFLE BRIGADE, CRIMEAN WAR 1854

PRIVATE, INFANTRY REGIMENT, WORLD WAR ONE, 1914-1918

LANCE CORPORAL, PARA REGIMENT, WORLD WAR TWO, 1944

ROYAL MARINE COMMANDO, FALKLANDS WAR, 1982

SAPPER, ROYAL ENGINEERS, AFGHANISTAN, 2014